George Edward Larner (7 February 1875 – 4 March 1949) was an English athlete who competed mainly in the 10-mile walk. He was a multi-time

Amateur Athletic Association of England The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...

champion, and won two gold medals at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

in London.

Career

Larner was a

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

policeman, and took up athletics at the age of 28 in 1903. In 1904 he won the

(AAA) titles for the two and seven-mile track walk. He went on to retain these titles in the following year. He wanted to retire as he found training conflicted with his job, but was instead granted an extended leave period by the Police Force. In 1906, he took a two-year break from athletics to train for the upcoming

held in London. After returning, he was disqualified in his first race in April 1908, at the AAA event in walking over seven miles, but the following July he won the two-mile title. He competed for Great Britain in the 1908 Summer Games in the 3500 metre walk on 14 July 1908, winning the race ahead of fellow Briton

Ernest Webb Ernest James "Ernie" Webb (25 April 1874 – 24 February 1937) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 10 mile walk. He was born in Hackney and died in Toronto. Webb competed for the Herne Hill Harriers. He competed for Great Britai ...

, who took silver, and New Zealander Harry Kerr. Webb had initially taken the lead, but Larner caught up during the second lap and went on to win the race by over twelve seconds. Afterwards he matched this with another gold medal in the 10-mile walk, this time in a British clean sweep, with Webb again winning silver and Edward Spencer winning bronze. Both he and Webb were inside the world record time, with Larner setting world records for both the 9-mile and the 10-mile distances. His final time was 1 hour, 15 minutes and 57.4 seconds. He was one of ten competitors to win more than a single gold medal at the 1908 Games. In 1909 he wrote a book on walking entitled ''Larner's Text Book on Walking: Exercise, Pleasure, Sport''. His final AAA success came in 1911, when he won the 7 mile race once more.

Legacy

Larner broke the world record in walking in all distances between two miles and ten miles, and the longest distance in one hour, which he set at . The record he set for the 2-mile on 14 July 1904 stood for the following 39 years. The 1908 Summer Games was the only time that either the men's 10-mile walk or the 3500 metre walk took place. This technically means that Larner remains the reigning Olympic champion in both events, and the Olympic record holder. He is one of only a handful of British athletes to have won more than a single gold medal at any one Olympic Games, with only Charlotte Cooper having achieved it at an earlier Olympics, and Henry Taylor winning three medals at the 1908 Games. Larner's name has been carried on the front of a

Scania Omnidekka The East Lancs OmniDekka (later sold as the Darwen OmniDekka and Optare OmniDekka) is a double-decker bus built for sale in the UK market, introduced by East Lancashire Coachbuilders in 2003. Originally built on Scania N94UD chassis at Euro 3, ...

bus in the fleet of

Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

since October 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larner, George 1875 births 1949 deaths British male racewalkers English male racewalkers Sportspeople from Slough English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)